This Is Not Home For Us
by Mayofish
Summary: Gold shook his head. "There is no happy ending, Crys. They've already won. Red isn't coming back to save us this time." Slight AU and BOY-LOVE.
1. Prologue

Prologue

The streets were barren. No one dared to go outside at night — not since everything fell to ruin.

"_We can beat them!" Crystal always was so naïve._

"_Just the three of us?" Silver, though, had been smarter. _

"_Red did it alone!" She protested and Gold refused to join in the argument._

"_But that was Red." Silver shifted uneasily._

"_Who needs Red? We're just as good, if not better!" _

_They all knew Red was long gone but at the same time they hoped — prayed he would appear just to save the day like he always did._

Gold threw his head back and took a drag from his cigarette to push back the memories. That was exactly six years ago and Red hadn't came back to save the day. Part of Gold hated him for that, and part of him couldn't care.

Life had been simple, but Gold had been a ten-year-old boy with his head in the clouds. Back then there was no such thing as terror and hopelessness.

Silver said Gold had changed. Silver didn't know Gold had been like this since it all began.

Crystal had always been the one who wanted to win. She was a fiery girl. Gold would have been content living at home as a breeder like the rest of his family.

Christ, Gold didn't even like girls.

He shoved himself away from the Radio Tower and why were the memories coming back now?

"Fuck." He threw his cigarette to the ground and stomped it out.

His eyes had lost their shine and they glanced around the dimly lit city that once used to be so full of life. A red R-shaped search light painting the sky above the Radio Tower.

They had almost won.

Until Giovanni had revealed his trump card.

_Gold had been with Silver and Crystal when the announcement came on the television. It was that night everything changed. _

_They had been resting in the Pokemon Center of Goldenrod because the next day Crys said they had to sneak into the Rocket infected Radio Tower and take it back. Nurse Joy was humming to herself over the ever present and annoying Team Rocket broadcasts._

_There had been a loud thump and the radio went silent. The TV screen turned black before an over-head shot of a island in ruin and flames appeared. What appeared be left was a lab._

_The radio crackled._

_Gold twitched and Silver leaned in closer as a figure appeared on the screen. There was another explosion and the screen went black again before switching to a news reporter._

"_A laboratory off the coast of Kanto went up in flames just a few moments ago. Figures were seen ushered into a fleet of helicopters before the final explosion went off. It is unknown what has occurred."_

_There was a weighted silence and Nurse Joy flicked off the television. A grunt stood behind her, looking worried but stern._

"_Well, that's enough of that for tonight." She was nervous. She knew something that the three children did not._

_Then a noise emitted from the radio. She jumped and turned to turn it off before she remembered the grunts standing around her probably would not like that._

"_I thank you for your attempts to contact me. I am on my way. Have a landing pad ready at the Goldenrod Radio Tower." It was a deep voice that echoed from the radio, almost distorted. _

_Silver's eyes widened and Gold met the grunt's graze._

_Crystal was too naïve to understand the gravity of what had just happened._

Gold turned his eyes to the ruins left as a reminder. The rest of the city had been rebuilt for the better, but the ruins for the Pokemon Center and the Apartment Store still lay strewn across the asphalt.

It had been exactly six years ago.

_The three children hid their faces as the helicopter landed. The air was still after the motor died and they all waited. The people below were terrified and the grunts were bristling with excitement. The Executives were so confident in their Boss's abilities they had let the three of them up to the roof with no trouble. _

_Everyone held their breath._

_A man in a black suit stepped out of the chopper and stared at Ariana before meeting Silver's eyes. He raised his hand to make a motion._

"_Not so fast! You have to fight us if you want this city!" Crystal cried._

_Giovanni's eyes twinkled and he snapped his fingers. _

_Chaos erupted as a monster — was it even a Pokemon? — stepped from the helicopter. The creature raised one hand and the helicopter went flying towards the Pokemon center._

_Explosions and fire burst up around the city and Crys went running. Crystal looked back just in time to see Gold throw off his jacket — to reveal a back shirt with a bold letter R._

"_Gold?" She whimpered. _

_His eyes met here and there was so much betrayal he had to turn away. He grabbed Silver's hand and they disappeared into the turmoil. _

_The ground Crystal stood on shook and she stumbled to find the stairs to get back to the ground. The monster was destroying the city and this was the end. She tripped and skinned her knees. Tear blurred her visions and she was backed up the ledge of the roof._

"_Mewtwo, that's enough."_

He had betrayed them all. He lit another cigarette.

"Gold, Giovanni wants you."

He turned his eyes to the man who had spoken.

"He wants you to call him father, you know," Gold blew out smoke.

Silver's eyes narrowed.

"It was a joke, Sil. Laugh."

Silver shook his head and made his way back to the Radio Tower which had been turned into the Kanto and Johto Team Rocket Headquarters.

"You're no fun." Gold laughed and ran after Silver.

But maybe the laugh was just to hide the pain.


	2. Chapter One

Chapter One

Gold lost sight of Silver when he turned down the opposite hall. He paused at the crossroads and then walked down the other corridor towards Giovanni's office.

Gold mourned the loss of the rivalry they had — back before he had made this decision.

Silver had been fun to tease, fun to beat and he always took it upon himself to teach the older boy about how to treat Pokemon the way they should be treated.

But in all honesty, Silver hadn't changed, Gold had.

The now teenager sighed and reached his hand out to knock on Giovanni's door.

"Come in." The answer was swift.

Gold pushed open the door and straightened his hat. Unlike most grunts, he had kept his signature gold and black cap.

"Shut the door behind you, Gold."

The boy nodded but kept his head down as he did what he was told and then took his place in front of Giovanni's desk.

"You wanted to see me, Boss?"

The Team Rocket leader motioned his had as if to brush the question away.

"You are my most trusted member."

And Gold cursed Arceus for letting his heart flutter at those words.

Giovanni must have noticed the slight blush that Gold had been trying to hide and laughed deep in his throat.

He continued, "You, unlike the others, saw Team Rocket for what it was. And I admire that in you."

Gold had heard this speech many times before but it still brought back the memories of when they met in a rush.

_Crystal had sent Gold off to find more information on Team Rocket while she was investigating the Lake of Rage. He shouldn't have traveled that far out but he did — in all reality he was avoiding the task given to him._

_At first there was no sound but rushing water and he actually had no idea where he was. Then there was a slight sound of static echoing from inside a cave._

_Gold glanced back at his Typhlosion and then entered the cave._

"_Hello?"_

_There was a figure hunched over the radio, fiddling with the knobs. Nothing but that strange and eerie song Gold heard at the Lake of Rage played. Gold wondered why the man didn't just turn it off. _

_He finally seemed to notice the boy's presence and straightened up. His stance was elegant to say the least._

_He was an older man, but not old like Professor Oak. His eyes seemed older and distant — too much like Silver's for Gold to handle. _

_The red R on the man's suit jacket stood out. It burned Gold's eyes but it also drew him in. _

_There was a pause while the two analyzed each other. The man's eyes never left Gold, not even to glance at his Typhlosion behind him._

"_... I don't know why you have come here. Anyway, I have to warn you that this is not a place for kids like you."_

_His tone was formal and it only pulled Gold deeper into the cave._

_Gold couldn't find his voice so the man continued, _

"_You have a certain look... It reminds me of__the kid who stood in front of me three years ago... You have the same eyes..."_

_The radio suddenly crackled and the man turned slightly._

_It was an announcement of Team Rocket's return and they seemed to be begging their missing leader to return._

_The man's eyes widened. _

"_My old associates need me..." he whispered but it was almost like he was reluctant to leave._

_Then it hit Gold._

"_Y-you're Giovanni."_

_The man met Gold's eyes and he smirked in a way that reminded Gold of Silver. Gold may just have fell head of heels, then. But he regained his balance because this man was evil. Right?_

_Gold knew he had to keep Giovanni from getting to the rest of his team._

"_Why did you form Team Rocket anyway?" Gold shifted his weight, his voice naturally cocky._

_Giovanni eyed the boy and took a step closer, his hands aimed to reach for the pokeballs hooked to his waist at any time. Gold was just like Red. Gold didn't really want to know. Gold just wanted to buy his friends time._

_But Gold was curious. He knew Giovanni was a smart and highly accomplished man. He could have the world if he wanted it. _

_Giovanni didn't lie. He wasn't a liar, he manipulated people, yes, but he didn't lie._

"_I want to make the world mine. I have plans and I feel I can make it a better place, but there are some things that need to be changed."_

_Gold waited for him to continue so Giovanni explained it all from the very beginning. About how he wasn't the true founder of Team Rocket, how his mother was cold and bitter and how he wanted much more for Team Rocket than she ever did._

_He explained everything and finally, when it was all said and done, Giovanni told Gold about Silver. About how he couldn't stay with his young mother, how he abandoned his own son._

"_I don't want Silver to turn out like me, and I know it may be too late, but I want to find him."_

_Gold sucked down every word he spoke like a dying man. Gold understood him and Gold wanted to help Giovanni make the world a better place. Maybe Gold had been naïve and foolish. He betrayed Crystal, he betrayed all Red had worked for, he betrayed Silver and he may have even betrayed his family._

_But in the end, Gold joined Team Rocket._

And he didn't regret it one bit.

Gold grinned, "Thanks, Boss."

"That's not why I called you here," Giovanni smirked back. "You are known around the Johto region for being able to bring out the full potential in the Pokemon you hatch."

Gold laughed, "People have told me that before."

"I want you to have this then."

It was a Pokemon egg and Gold took it tenderly into his hands.

"You are dismissed, Gold."

He saluted and left his leader to himself.


	3. Chapter Two

Chapter Two

In all reality, the two regions hadn't changed much. There were still gyms and there was still the Pokemon league, although only the gym leaders who had deflected to Team Rocket had kept their posts.

All of the original Elite 4 and even Lance had disappeared. The four head Team Rocket Executives had replaced them with Gold as the Champion.

Blue had vanished before they could even ask him to Join Team Rocket and Silver had taken his place at the Viridian Gym. Like father, like son. Most of the other gym leaders had either already secretly been with Team Rocket or had joined shortly after the takeover.

The rules of the game had changed too. You now had to collect all sixteen badges from both Regions to fight the Elite 4. And, of course, even if a challenger had beaten Gold, they still had to defeat Giovanni after him.

The Labs had been pulled under Team Rocket Control and pokedexes were no longer handed out. Professor Oak and Elm hadn't been heard of in several years.

Yet, no one gave up their dreams of becoming a Pokemon Master, but at the same time, becoming a Pokemon Master included joining Team Rocket. Many of the younger children now dreamed of becoming an Executive for the growing power that ruled the two regions with an iron fist.

The younger generation praised Team Rocket for joining the two regions that had for so long fought against being combined. Team Rocket had stimulated the shriveling economy of Kanto and had made major technological advancements in the past six years that bettered the living environment.

But the older generations resisted it. Giovanni was a dictator after all. Even if he didn't hurt Pokemon (— Gold had made sure of this, it was the only condition on his Team rocket defection.), Giovanni was no good. Yet, no one stood up against him.

Gold found Crystal in the New Bark Pokemon Lab. She was studying Pokemon evolution and didn't even look at him when he walked. Gold knew she knew it was him.

He paused at the door waiting for a sign of approval from her that he knew she wouldn't give. He approached her after a few more seconds.

She spoke before he could get close enough to look over her shoulder.

"Why are you here?" Her words were venomous.

"I just wanted to check on you," Gold said with a shrug of his shoulders. She always disappeared on this day.

"It was six years ago today that you betrayed us, Gold," she still didn't turn to look at him.

"I've explained myself to you before, Crys. This is for the best."

"I never wanted this!" She spun on her heels and met his eyes with a steady and angry gaze.

Gold had become used to this, but it still stung.

"I didn't ask you to follow me."

"I didn't ask you to join Team Rocket," she shot back. Crystal took a deep breath to calm herself, "You can fight back. We can find Red. _We can win_."

Her voice made her sound desperate and broken — pushed past her limits. It hurt Gold because it was his fault. But at the same time he tried to blame her. He never wanted to be a Pokemon Trainer in the first place.

Gold shook his head, "There is no happy ending, Crys. They've already won. Red isn't coming back to save us this time."

Her eyes dug draggers into his chest.

"We just have to find him, Gold. He'll help us," she plead and Gold wondered when she would learn.

"I joined Team Rocket out of my own free will, Crys. I'm sorry." He turned to leave.

"You bastard." She hissed.

Gold shook his head and left the lab. Silver was standing outside.

"You really shouldn't get her all worked up. Today is a hard day for her and you know that," Silver was emotionless as ever.

Gold grinned. "I know. It's just funny to watch her get so angry."

Silver frowned but didn't speak.

Gold's grin faltered slightly, "I wish she would just see the good in this. We've helped so many people and Pokemon."

"But are _you_ happy, Gold?" Silver asked quietly.

"Yes."

Silver blinked but he knew that would Gold's answer.

"This is not home for us."

"This _is_ home, Silver. Why don't you see that?"


End file.
